Insurance companies hire unlicensed adjusting firms

ALICE, Texas – Justin Dunavant and his wife aren’t sure what they miss the most, their dog or their garden.

They haven’t been able to be around either since moving out of their home in March.

The couple and their three children have been living in a nearby Holiday Inn for two months while they wait on a claims dispute to be resolved with their insurance carrier.

The United States Army veteran has filed a lawsuit against his insurance company because they are approving a claim amount that sits about $100,000 shy of what a public adjuster said would be needed to repair damages caused in January.

On what would have been a typical Thursday morning, an SUV ran three stop signs and careened into the corner of the home.

The damage is significant, with the entire laundry room turned to rubble and cracks present in the home’s ceiling throughout.

When the Dunavants’ insurance company rejected several repair estimates from the company’s own approved vendor, Dunavant said he hired a public adjuster.

In March, that adjuster pointed out that there may be a problem with the dust in the home. He determined the cracks in the ceiling were releasing asbestos and a family doctor ordered Justin and his family to vacate the home immediately.

The public adjuster also requested that the company send out a licensed adjuster, not a contractor, to look at the damages. They eventually did. However, the company that adjuster was working for was not licensed with the Texas Department of Insurance.

“What we’re finding is although most of the adjusters are licensed individually, a lot of the companies are not licensed at all,” said Shannon Loyd, the attorney representing Dunavant.

Loyd is also part of a non-profit group called Texas Policy Holder Advocates, whose mission is to help consumers fight their insurance company without having to hire an attorney.